The present invention relates to an outboard motor flushing system for flushing a marine engine outboard propulsion unit and especially to an outboard motor flushing system having a remote attaching handle and water control system.
In the past, a wide variety of systems have been provided for flushing of corrosive materials from a drive unit of a marine engine outboard propulsion unit. In particular, the flushing systems are used to flush the cooling systems after the marine engines have been used in salt water to purge the system of the corrosive effects of salt water by flushing fresh water through the cooling system. Examples of such flushing systems can be seen in a number of prior art U.S. patents including the Lawler patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,828, for a self-gripping flushing accessory which is attachable over the water inlet of an outboard motor without the need of additional fasteners by the use of a U-shaped spring unit attached to a pair of sealing cups. In the Carlson patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,063, a Spring-Biased Flushing Accessory for Outboard Motors works similar to the Lawler patent except that an additional spring is added to the U-shaped retainer member and both of the spring arms are hinged to a bracket. The Guhlin patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,104, is a Flushing Device for a Motorboat Engine which has a pair of sealing units held by a U-shaped spring. The Karls patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,009, is a Flushing Device for Outboard Motors which is held to the cooling water inlets by a rod passing through from one side to the other of the prop and in which the sealing cups are tightened by sliding a spring latch on the rod. The Patel patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,953, is a Flushing Device for Outboard Motors which uses a strap that attaches around the prop to hold sealing cups against the prop and over the water inlets. The Karls patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,851, is a Flushing Device for Outboard Motors which uses a mounting bracket to hold a resilient cup which in turn has a hose connector attached thereto. The Guhlin patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,488, is another Flushing Device for Outboard Motors which allows a water hose to be attached to the cooling system of the outboard motor prop. The Guhlin patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,948, is another Universal Flushing Device which attaches the seals for the cooling system with a strap.
The Mavrelis patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,276, is an Outboard Motor Flushing Apparatus which attaches sealing cups to cover the water inlets of an outboard prop unit with a U-shaped spring and has a water hose connected to one of the sealing units. This patent provides an elongated rigid handle formed with a planar forward terminal end surface and a clamp member for clamping to the U-shaped spring for use in securing the motor flushing unit to an outboard motor prop.
In contrast to these prior patents, the present invention is an outboard motor flushing system for flushing a marine engine outboard propulsion unit which also provides an elongated rigid hollow handle removably attached to a U-shaped spring bracket for positioning the flush unit onto the outboard propulsion unit and which also has the flushing water fed through the pipe and through separate control valves on the handle to thereby allow control of the flow of flushing water and to allow for the rapid testing of the sealing elements when remotely attached with the elongated handle. More precise control of the attachment with the elongated handle is provided with an elongated metal rod attached to one end for attachment to the U-shaped spring bracket, which metal rod can be rigid but bent to an angle for more convenient attachment of the sealing elements and spring brackets.